Montreal Canadiens Sticking to the Plan Under Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes

The Montreal Canadiens took the next step in their rebuilding plan by playing meaningful games at the end of the season in March and April. As documented by Full Press Hockey, the Canadiens made it their goal to be in that position and potentially make the playoffs. Nobody thought they would make the playoffs, but they found a way. 

Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes are probably a year ahead of schedule in making the playoffs in year three of the rebuild; however, these two put the pieces in place for the Canadiens to have a chance at the playoffs this season.

Montreal took advantage of struggling teams in the Eastern Conference. However, the Canadiens’ roster was better than that of the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders. Montreal edged out the New York Rangers, who sabotaged their season with internal issues. However, the Canadiens played well and won games down the stretch.

However, Jeff Gorton wants to see this rebuild through in Montreal alongside Kent Hughes. The Rangers prematurely fired Gorton due to outside noise and higher expectations, sending them into their current cycle. However, one team’s loss is another team’s gain.

There was a reason Geoff Molson targeted Gorton. He had a different way of thinking and approach to his position. Gorton’s hire of Kent Hughes was outside the box but is paying dividends. He does not want to leave Montreal for the Islanders and their open general manager position. He wants to see this thing through in Montreal. Plus, he has one of the best jobs in the world.

But even with the Canadiens making the playoffs this season, Gorton and Hughes recognize the job’s not finished. While this is a step, and it can be helpful down the road for players to come to Montreal and play, these guys are sticking to their game and not deviating from what got the Canadiens to this point.

“I don’t think it’s fast forwarding anything,” Gorton told the media at the year end presser. “We’ve come in here with a plan of what we want to do to rebuild this team, and I think it’s certainly helpful in a lot of ways: the experience of it for our players and maybe showing the rest of the league what it could be like to play here. There’s a lot of benefits from what the players were able to do this season. But we’re certainly not done. There’s a lot more to do here.”

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Both acknowledge that the Montreal Canadiens still need to improve this roster by adding scoring, size, and competitiveness. Similar to their counterpart in New Jersey, Devils President and GM Tom Fitzgerald does not just look to improve areas of weakness but also to enhance the team’s strengths.

Gorton and Hughes are taking a similar approach in Montreal.

“As we’re building the team out, we’re trying to get better in all areas. We’re not a finished product and there’s not one area of our team where we’re saying, “we’re done there.” So, we’ll continue to look at everything and try to build it out. Everyone’s talking about size and Washington and the way they played — we’re certainly aware of that,” Gorton continued during his year end press conference. “As we move forward, Kent and I have a lot of discussions about it, and ultimately, compete is the biggest thing: making sure that we have players that are comfortable in a playoff environment and able to play in all situations. There’s really nothing we won’t look at to improve the team.”

Meanwhile, Kent Hughes believes in the same plan as Gorton. As he told the media, he tried to make a hockey trade at the NHL Trade Deadline and will try again this summer. Hughes wants to add pieces that can help now and in the long term.

Both men understand that the second line needs to improve as they target a second-line center. As Full Press Hockey documented throughout the season, this was a big year for Kirby Dach, and he will also be the one burning question for Montreal next season. His health is a question mark for the club.

This reclamation project has not worked out as planned, and this could be Dach’s last year in a Montreal Canadiens uniform. As previously mentioned, Full Press Hockey noted there was a chance he could have been traded this past year. Management wants a big camp from Dach, but they admitted this could be his last shot in Montreal with the youth coming.

Gorton admitted that improving the second line could be done via free agency, a trade, or an offer sheet. Ideally, a second-line center with term will help, but the club admitted there are more ways than one to improve the line, given that Ivan Demidov will be playing his first full season in the NHL.

Hughes and Gorton added that they want to be active and have a big summer as they look to improve the Montreal Canadiens; however, neither man was going to reveal their plan for getting it done. One thing is clear: they know the job is not finished. Just because Montreal got to the playoffs this year does not guarantee anything for next season.

Both men want those players to come into next season hungrier after getting a taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. The goal is to return to the playoffs with Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle‘s extensions kicking in next season.

The Montreal Canadiens can’t go backwards. It was a great season as Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield took their next steps. Lane Hutson emerged as a stud defenseman in the NHL. He is up for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year. Head coach Martin St. Louis is up for the Jack Adams as Coach of the Year for the job he did to get the team into the playoffs.

Montreal must stay on the path they have charted as they look to build a sustainable Stanley Cup contender for years to come.